This invention relates to improvements to grip tape to be adhered to a surface for improving its coefficient of friction as a non-skid surface and for absorbing vibration. More particularly, the invention relates to cushioned grip tape to be applied to a surface to provide a high coefficient of friction and offer fatigue resistance, reduce muscle discomfort and body aches due to fatigue where workers are standing or walking.
Grip tape is old and well known in the prior art. Grip tape typically includes a substantially flat continuous flexible sheet of material covered by or coated with an abrasive material. Such grip tapes are typically adhered to surfaces such as skate boards, scooters, boats, stairs, decks, mopeds, windsurfers or the like for the purpose of preventing a user from slipping on the surface. In some cases, the surface to which the grip tape is applied is subject to vibration which tires the user when standing on the surface for long periods of time, or where the surface is subject to sudden forces that can result in painful impact on the feet of the user.
Flexible sheets with abrasive surfaces adapted for attachment with adhesive are known in the art. For example from Wooster products of Wooster Ohio under the trademark Flex Tread™ anti-slip deck tape and from Minnesota Mining and manufacturing of St. Paul, Minn., under the name Safety-Walk™, anti-slip surface material and from the Jessup Manufacturing Company of McHenry, Ill. under the name Safety Track™ and Flex Track™ Non-Slip tape.
Cushion Matting is also old and well known in the prior art. Cushion matting is often a non-woven floor-covering product made from continuous vinyl filaments or rubber (rubber-like) materials. Cushion matting is used for fatigue resistance and to aid users in standing comfort. For example, such cushion matting may be obtained from Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing of St. Paul, Minn., under the name Safety-Walk™ Cushion Matting 3270.
The prior patent art has disclosed many types of flexible sheets with non-skid surfaces or treads with adhesive backing in order to enable the sheets to be adhered to an underlying surface. Exemplary of such structures are U.S. Pat. No. 3,227,604 issued Jan. 4, 1966 to Morgan and U.S. Pat. No. 3,578,550 issued May 11, 1971 to Hoerner et al.
Cushioning non-skid surfaces have also been suggested in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 2,156,871 issued May 2, 1939 to Rittenhouse describes a thin sheet of soft rubber with a fabric backing on one side and a granular friction face on the upper surface composed of haphazardly arranged granules of crystalline form. The granules are individually retained in interstices in the rubber sheet.
Reissue Pat. 25, 778 issued May 18, 1965 to La Bore et al. describes a non-slip covering material in which discreet incompressible resilient non-adhesive particles are randomly distributed throughout a flexible matrix of a rubber-based or rubbery adhesive composition. The matrix is prepared by curing a slurry containing the particles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,759 issued Sep. 13, 1994 to Will shows a decking structure in which one or more layers of elastomeric material are disposed beneath an upper layer of polyethylene coated with aluminum oxide particles. The elastomeric layers are permanently attached to the decking structure.
There has been a long felt need for a cushioned grip tape having a non-skid safety surface with a vibration absorbing cushioning layer and the ability to adhere this composite material to a desired surface using a pressure sensitive adhesive. There has also been a need to improve the coefficient of friction resisting slipping on the surface.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide an improved cushioned grip tape.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved flexible cushioned grip tape for attaching to standing surfaces that will prevent fatigue.
Another object to the present invention is to provide a flexible cushioned grip tape with an improved nonskid surface.
Another object of the invention is to provide a flexible cushioned grip tape which may be easily applied to a surface of any shape or contour.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a flexible cushioned grip tape with a non-skid surface having a higher objective coefficient of friction than an uncushioned non-skid surface.